Act 1 Flashcards
Starts with
Starts with a black and white projection & news broadcaster/Churchill → juxtaposes life the jamaicans bring to the screen
What happens when Hortense sings at the beginning
Hortense singing while projection moved and set comes on → dropped down/stage spins/chairs on stage
Blond woman over-acting
American accent too overdone and sounds Irish at some points
Hortense - monologue - great accent
Sarcastic
witty
in love
brave
Hortense explains her childhood and how she fell in love
Hortense sits next to her younger self
Lights get brighter
Colourful clothing in Jamaica cf Britain
When preset hortense talks to audience the lights go darker
Present hortense stays on stage the whole time
Use table as a ‘tree’ simplistic set design
Michael ‘falls’ out of tree → flips off table
Still in ‘classroom’ set up Past hortense runs around → becomes chicken shed → present hortense flips blackboard round Blackboard drawn on - looks like bamboo
Present hortense responds instead of past hortense
Adults all face to back but kids face front
When michael back it is a warm light until dad prays at table then it goes brighter
Hortense gets hit and flinches when Michael’s father shouts → faces his wrath too many times?
Use table to ‘look for woodpecker’
Michael checking hortenses out
Hortense speaks to aud & moves a chair - back to blackboard
Michael walked her to door and he goes through frame hortense doesn’t
Lights change when michael and white woman kiss → creepy music/storm gets worse → lighting = darker and black and white and harsher
All the actors pick up the chairs and spin around the stage → hurricane picking up
All actors at back of stage facing away → slowly spin and face Hortense
Hortense screamed at by Michael’s mother
Michael want to leave
Mother all over him screaming
Father keeping distance - stomped foot
Hortense distancing herself from Michael - too hurt
Mother screams when michael touches Hortense’s arm - caring
Tableau → Hortense singing then everyone sings with
Projection of a sea crashing and props
taken off by ensemble when singing
Door frame come up through centre of stage and queenie and white guy walk through it
Bed wheeled on
Parents came on with bucket and a pig → cut open a pig on stage
Aunt popped on stage → lifted on
Trying to queenie to go down to London
- Queenie wants to leave farm
When queenie goes to london
Projections of london on screen → making it appear wonderful to Queenie
Ensemble comes on - walk around → busy london
Cinema seats wheeled on on moving stage
Mirrors opened and queenie walks out dressed up real nice
Excited for life Hope she has kids → hope for a better life Finally happy Happy to be out of a farm
Meeting bernie for the first time
Projections of sweets
Sweet counter wheeled on
Bernie good actor
Very quiet and nervous
Stiff - wooden